4.25.2013

Oh Hell No: Blackface in Asian American fraternity video

This is the kind of stuff that makes me shake my fist at the sky and wonder why the hell I ever bother... Over the years, I've seen an abundance of racist idiocy involving fraternities, from racist ragers to hate attacks. This is not necessarily a frat thing, so much as it is a dumbass-dudes-doing-dumbass-things-together thing. The latest incident comes from UC Irvine, and it involves an Asian American fraternity.

Oh yes, we Asian Americans are most certainly not immune to perpetuating our share of racist ignorance. The brothers of UCI's Lambda Theta Delta recently posted a video (at 0:55), in which a member is seen performing in blackface. Like it ain't no big deal. I don't care about good or bad intentions, or why this video was made -- this is some ignorant shit, and the people responsible need to know it.

This is a mirror version of the original video, which was taken down. Amidst the furor, someone uncovered another instance, seen in Lambda Theta Delta's 2012 Rush Video, of the fraternity engaging in more racial mockery. This Facebook post outlines the racist media, and the ensuing actions taken by members of the UC Irvine community in response: Anti-Blackness at UC Irvine.

It's one thing for all-white fraternity to engage in behavior like this. Hell, it's rarely a surprise when you see it... because the precedent has been set many times over. But an Asian American fraternity? That's almost personal. It makes me want to drive the distance to Irvine and shake the stupid out of somebody. And when this goes down at a school like UC Irvine, where Asian Americans comprise over 50% of the student population -- and African Americans make up just under 3% -- it throws back the curtain on the larger, more troubling issue of marginalization on campus.

This is a time to take action and stand in solidarity with African American students in response to this incident. I've said this before: we know what it's like to be on the receiving end of racial mockery, only to face complete apathy -- both from within and outside the APA community -- when we try to speak out. Don't let that happen.

For more on this, follow updates on the Asian Pacific Student Association at UC Irvine's Facebook page.